Good Morning From Pole Day

Good morning from IMS – although I use the term loosely when I say morning. the sun is pretty high in the sky and we had to park pretty far away due to lour late arrival. On a selfish note, in case you didn’t see the post from last night – Susan and I got married here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and we are moving slowly this morning. Scroll down and read all about it in the post below.

But we’re here today for qualifying. Helio Castroneves posted the fastest time of the month this morning when he turned a lap at 227.744 mph. He will be one to watch this afternoon. Team Penske was probably smartest this week. While other teams were chasing speed, they were working on their race setup. This morning, they turned their attention to the pole. Don’t be surprised if No. 3 is at the top of the pylon at the end of the day.

Probably the biggest surprise of the morning practice was the driver who was second – Ana Beatriz, with a speed of 226.187. More familiar names followed, with Ryan Briscoe third and Dario Franchitti fourth.

Qualifying has already started as I type. With six cars now qualified, Helio just went out and stuck his car in the middle of the provisional front row with an average speed of 225.282 mph. Will Power is still first with a speed of 225.399. Sebastian Saavedra just went out and blew an engine on his first lap.

OK…so after a late start, we’re going to wrap up for now and get outside and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Indianapolis 500. But there will be much more regularity than yesterday. As you can imagine, I had a lot going on yesterday as i prepared for my on-site nuptials. today, it’s all about racing and the things that go with it. Please, check back later.